A Sky as Blue as Your Eyes
by Kohaku Frost
Summary: One summer day, Kairi's older sister appears on the island to find and destroy the true Keyblade master, but Riku doesn't know that... RikuOC


A Sky as Blue as Your Eyes

The waves came and went, the coconuts fell, the storms blew through. And one boring morning of the year he turned fifteen, he found a girl washed up on the beach of the Cove. Her hair was as black as the ocean at midnight, and she wasn't much older than he was. Kairi and Sora were with him, and when Kairi screamed and ran to the unconscious girl, he had a feeling things were going to get very interesting. Since he was ten years old, he had always dreamed of traveling to new worlds, and that was obviously what this girl had done. The sand around her was stained with blood he hadn't noticed until he saw Kairi kneeling in it, ruining her long white skirt. The girl moaned a little as Kairi turned her over on her back. He saw the terrible gashes running down her arms the same moment as Sora, and to his credit he didn't barf even though he turned away before Sora did. He had never seen injuries so bad on a person still living.

Red haired Kairi was pulling the near-drowned girl's long coat off in pieces, trying not to damage the wounds further. Without thought he went to her side and held the girl up, so that Kairi didn't have to do it herself. The girl wore some kind of armor, but it was torn away around her back and she sat up with a scream as soon as her bare skin touched the sand. Kairi barked orders at him like never before, telling him to hold the girl up while she healed the burns. Burns? What had happened to this kid?

"Sora, go tell Selphie that I need the emergency potions, and send Tidus and Wakka back to town to get more. I'm going to need three or four blankets and maybe a pillow. Move it, dummy!" He had never seen Kairi act like this before, and it frightened the boy a little. The girl was wide awake now and biting her lip to keep from screaming again. Her eyes were shut tightly and the platinum haired teen couldn't see what color they were, but at the moment he had better things to ponder. "Yuki, Yuki can you hear me? Talk to me, please Yuki, I need to know how badly you're hurt!"

"K...Kai...ri..." Yuki managed to gasp out that much before she passed out again. Kairi finished treating the burns on the black haired girl's back and told him to set her down. He did, Sora returned with Selphie and the potions, giving them to Kairi so she could treat the lacerations. Now that his hands were free he watched the red head intently. How the hell did Kairi know a half dead girl none of them had ever seen before? What was going on?

"Kairi, who is this girl? How does she know you?" He needed to know, and to do that he had to ask. Kairi never looked up from her work, bandaging the wounds like an expert.

"Her name is Yuki and she's my sister."

The arrival of Yuki in their peaceful islands marked the point he started growing up, he thought. The fact that she had traveled to their world from another infinitely far away and survived gave his flagging hope new energy, gave his dreams a will to be realized. That evening, the adults of the village called a meeting to decide Yuki's fate. Kairi's mother, the Mayor's wife, demanded that Yuki be set adrift far out to sea to die. It seemed that there was no love lost between Yuki and her mother... Obviously, they all wanted to know why. In the end it was decided that Yuki would stay on the island that was the children's playground to live or die as fate willed. Having turned fifteen, he was allowed to join village meetings as an adult of full citizenship. He decided to keep his mouth shut about his plans for Yuki and refused to vote in the decision. He knew his mother knew what he was planning, but she didn't interfere, and that earned her a tad more respect from him. She let him come and go as he pleased, asking only that he looked out for the safety of his friends, since he was the oldest.

After they dumped Yuki back in the very spot where he had found her that morning and returned to the village proper, he slipped out of his bedroom and rowed back to the island. There were wild dogs on the island, and they had been known to attack injured fisherman if there wasn't a fire nearby. If he was going to learn how to escape that hell hole, he needed Yuki alive and well so that she could assist him. And she would help him, whether she liked it or not.

It was imperative to Riku that the girl survive, whether or not it annoyed her mother. He needed her alive, so that he could borrow the knowledge that had led her successful journey to their puny world. And, if she was Kairi's sister, he would easily learn more about the cheerful girl who was among his closest friends. The pale blue eyed boy knew well that Kairi had a crush on Sora, and it didn't really bother him. She was still the little sister he had always wanted and never got, the girl he looked out for without qualm.

Riku tied up the boat and ran across the soft sand to the place Yuki had been dumped. He found her there, sprawled over the sand in front of a roaring fire. As he approached, she turned her head and sat up, though the stiffness of her muscles robbed the motion of some grace. She glanced at him once, then smiled, although it was unlike any smile Riku had ever seen.

"Well... You're the kid who found me this morning, aren't you? Thanks for doing that, whether it was intentional or accidental. Kairi told me your name is Riku?" He nodded numbly, staring at her eyes. They were the only green eyes he had ever seen. He had seen people who said they had green eyes before, but those paltry, pale colors were nothing compared to the dark, nearly black green in her eyes. The firelight caught in them, throwing shadows in her gaze that Riku knew shouldn't be in the eyes of someone so young.

"Yeah. Your name is Yuki?" She smiled and waved expansively at the sand on her side of the fire. Riku sat down near her, a little further outside the firelight than she was.

"Yep. So, tell me, what sort of nonsense is my dear mother spreading about me?" The sarcasm in her voice brought a smirk to curve Riku's lips. He could see already that they were very similar.

"She says you're a witch, a bringer of pestilence and plague, a disaster waiting to happen, the Antichrist. You name it, she's said it." Yuki sighed and flipped one long black bang out of her eyes.

"Well, that's no worse than I've gotten from non-relatives. So, what do you kids do around here for fun?" Riku raised an eyebrow and flopped on the sand himself.

"Fun? What's that?" The teenager grinned wickedly, his handsome face showing signs of the mischief he loved to cause. "Is that when you poke holes in the Mayor's boat so he can't come out here to inspect the islands? Or scaring the shit out of any and everything over the age of forty?"

Yuki laughed, a quiet, dark sound that made Riku's mind think of other quiet, dark things. She was actually starting to like this kid, and it seemed the feeling was mutual.

"Riku, my dear, I think this is the beginning of a long and prosperous friendship. After all, two local delinquents are always better than one." Riku gave her his own slow smile, and Yuki's breath caught in her lungs. My God, he was cute. But, of course, much too young for her.

"I'm fifteen, Yuki darling, and I've probably raised all the hell there is around here. Perhaps you can teach me something new and wicked?" There was the slightest pause before Riku said the word 'wicked' and he let the syllables slip out like the finest honey. Yuki let her head fall onto her arm as she laughed, spilling her hair around her like a curtain of night. So, the kid liked to play, did he?

"Anything killable around here? I mean creatures hazardous that we might get cash for eliminating?" Riku liked the way she played with her words, threw them in odd but proper syntax and then let them drift across the sand like a blown kiss.

"Yes. Wild dogs, other predators, just about anything, and the fishing's good. Not much of a deadly struggle, but it can get challenging, and the money's pretty decent." Yuki rolled over to lie on her stomach, letting the sand sprinkle out of her long, long hair and return to the beach.

"Do you fight much? Know anything about weapons, or warfare? I need to stay in shape, after all." Riku nodded and reached out to catch a lock of her hair in his fingers. The breeze had whipped it around to where it almost touched his cheek, and he twisted it around his finger, amazed at how soft something so dark could be.

"I can beat just about anything around here with my wooden sword. It's a definite child's toy, but steel is pretty rare around here and extremely expensive. Besides, our blacksmith doesn't know how to make weapons." The misery in Riku's voice brought a smile to Yuki's lips. She ran a hand down her leg and it came back with an eighteen inch sword firmly in its grasp. They both sat up and Yuki scooted closer to Riku so she could hand the weapon to him. Their fingers brushed as Riku reverently took the sword, tracing the pattern one the pommel with a gentle finger. "How did they miss this?"

"They didn't bother searching me." The awe in the teenager's voice amused Yuki, and in an unusual generosity, she pulled out her pair of daggers. "You can have the sword." Riku snapped his head up to stare at her. "I have these, and I don't use that thing anymore. I prefer a blade in each hand."

"Y...you mean it?" Riku was stunned. No one just gave away such beautiful things for nothing...

"Would I have said it if I didn't? Besides, where I come from it's customary to give a new friend a precious gift. Proof that you like and trust them." Yuki said offhandedly, sliding her favorite blades back into their sheaths. Riku stared down at the sword thoughtfully, then held it out to Yuki.

"I can't accept then. I have nothing precious to give you." Yuki shrugged casually.

"You'll think of something. Besides, if you're going to help me make some cash, you should use a real blade, not a toy. I can't teach you anything if I have steel and you have wood, right?" Riku slowly pulled his hand back, then spent a few moments turning the sword over in the firelight, watching the reflection of the flames dance in the silvery metal. Tossing the sword from his right hand to his left hand deftly, Riku laid the sword on the sand and then pulled off his right glove. He extended his hand to Yuki, and she reached out to shake his. Before she could, his strong, slender fingers snatched her hand and brought it to his lips. Locking his gaze with hers, he placed a tender, feathery kiss on each knuckle, watching the amazement in her green eyes at his behavior. Then, as he bent to kiss the pale back of her hand, Yuki twisted her hand in his, grabbing his shirtfront with her free hand and pulling him toward her.

Before Riku could even gasp, Yuki's lips were pressed against his and his left arm was wrapped around her tightly. He slowly untangled his right hand from hers, reaching around her back to pull off his other glove, deepening the kiss as he did so. Then, just as he pulled back for a breath, he let his fingers run through her mass of midnight hair, pulling her against him more tightly. He looked down into her eyes, watching the surprise in them as she traced his cheek with her fingertips. Yuki couldn't believe she had just kissed a boy she'd known less than a day. She couldn't believe he had kissed her back, and so passionately.

Yuki smiled up at him as he marveled at the long black strands of hair sliding through his fingers. He let a small, slow smirk curve his lips, then he pulled Yuki onto his lap –she was such a tiny little thing- kissing her brow, cheek, nose, every bit of her he could reach he kissed. Yuki reached up and captured his face with her small calloused hands, pulling his mouth back to hers, nibbling at his lips before she kissed him, drawing a gasp from him as her tongue darted in to play with his. Yuki let out a small moan as Riku's hand tightened in her hair, his other hand on her hip, careful not to touch her burned back too roughly.

They sat like that for hours, kissing, laughing, learning more about one another as they went. Yuki blushed as she admitted to Riku she was only sixteen, immediately putting him more at ease with her, making him bolder in his kisses. They ended up laying on the sand watching the flames dance, Yuki curled up against Riku, his warmth at her back letting her slip into a healthy, happy sleep. Riku wrapped his arm around Yuki and buried his face against her shoulder, holding her against him as he realized in shock that he'd just had the best time of his life merely kissing Yuki and laughing with her.

The villagers would be back the hour after dawn to see if Yuki was still alive, and Riku knew he should be heading home soon, but he just couldn't drag himself away from the protectiveness he felt for Yuki, the sheer happiness he got from hearing her laugh, from seeing the look in her eye that said quite clearly she trusted him...among other things. Riku slowly sat up, leaning down and pressing a soft kiss against Yuki's lips as she stirred in her sleep.

"I'll see you in the village tomorrow, alright?" Unable to resist, he kissed her again, his own long hair tickling her cheek.

"Okay Riku..." Yuki murmured sleepily, cracking her eyes open to meet his. "Pretend this night never happened around the village of idiots?"

"Yeah... If I don't see you in town, I'll meet you out here?" Yuki's fingers slipped around Riku's neck, tickling him as she pulled him down for another kiss. She didn't know if it was the kiss or the tickling that made Riku shiver against her.

"Of course, my dear. Can't have the kiddies knowing what a naughty boy their Riku has been, can we?" Yuki giggled as the silver haired teen growled against her throat, where he had been kissing a moment before. "All right, all right, you need to go before your folks miss you."

Riku got up off the sand, seeing the pink glow behind the trees for the first time. Muttering a curse under his breath, Riku ran for the pier, untying his boat and pushing off in record time. He looked back to see the reflection of the firelight on the water, then rowed for all he was worth to get home in time, praying he didn't run into the villagers on their way out to the island.

Luck was on his side, however, and Riku fell into bed a scant hour before Sora was at his door, chattering about the fact the new girl survived the night and was now accepted into the village, despite her mother's protests. Mumbling something about playing later, Riku shooed the younger boy out and then went back to sleep, his dreams filled with a low, sensual laugh, long black hair, and eyes as green as the sea was blue.

The sun was high in the sky when Riku got out of bed. Sora was being a real pest and Kairi too. They wanted Riku to come be properly introduced to Yuki, and so he sighed and got dressed, pulling his shirt over his head and letting his eyes linger in the mirror above his dresser. He recalled the sweet, delicate feel of Yuki's fingers around his neck, sliding down his arms and the memory make a shiver run down his spine. He reached beneath the bed and pulled out the sword, strapped firmly into the scabbard the black haired girl had given him. Proof, he thought, that last night wasn't a cruel dream.

Once ready to face the day, Riku stepped outside his little house, attached to his parents', and walked along the wooden dock to the park where he usually met up with his friends before heading out to the island. Before his foot could hit the imported grass, he saw Yuki leaning against a tree, her wounds healed by the village healer as a courtesy gift, her hair a loose black curtain to hide the many and varied dangers she had with her. She saw Riku and smiled, walking over and shaking his hand, introducing herself, showing no outward sign of the night before. She asked him about weapons, and they went back to his house, where she "gave" him the sword anew. Once that was done, they rejoined the others, getting into boats and heading out to the island. Riku offered Yuki a ride in his boat, and she accepted, complaining that her shoulders were stiff and she wouldn't be able to help row.

Riku watched her eyes as he rowed them out to the island, his strong arms getting them there before any of the other boats. Yuki let him help her onto the pier, since she didn't know how to swim and she didn't want to fall into the ocean. With a hearty wave at the slowpokes, Riku grabbed Yuki's hand and pulled her away to learn the vast and myriad secrets his tropical paradise had to offer. And, of course, he enjoyed simply holding her hand. They walked along the beach, Yuki twirling her daggers, Riku flourishing his new sword. They conversed in low tones, laughing conspiratorially whenever Kairi and Sora were around. Selphie, Wakka, and Tidus challenged Yuki to a fight, and Riku watched in blatant admiration as she knocked them all flat with a blow a piece. And she was using one of their wooden swords. Then Sora had to try, and the kid managed to last three hits before he went down.

Riku pulled his new sword out, drawing gasps from the crowd, challenging Yuki to beat him with her daggers. The slow, sensual smile on her lips accepted, and then they readied the area for the fight.

"Whoa, wait a minute!" Tidus interrupted before they could start the actual fighting. "We need to set up stakes if you two are gonna beat up on each other."

"I agree." Kairi's smile was sheer mischief, and Yuki raised an eyebrow at her little sister. That smile always, always meant trouble. "If Yuki wins..."

"I get to live on this island." That term was accepted, since they all knew the stink Kairi's mother had made when she'd seen Yuki in town that morning.

"And if Riku wins..." Kairi was enjoying this a little too much, Riku thought. Looking at Yuki, he smiled, gentle and wicked, sending a shiver down the older girl's spine and making Selphie swoon.

"I live with Yuki, wherever that may be." Sora's mouth dropped open, Wakka's eyes bugged out, and Tidus whistled. Selphie shot Yuki a look that would have killed a lesser girl, and Kairi giggled. So, the little red head knew about last night, did she? Yuki tossed a lock of her black hair over her shoulder, a graceful motion that must have been repeated in a thousand different situations a thousand different ways.

"Agreed. Now, can we get the ass kicking started?" Kairi dropped the flag, the clash of steel on steel rang out in the humid ocean air, and moments later, Yuki had one dagger pressed against Riku's midriff, his sword was at her throat, and Kairi declared a tie. Among the children of the Destiny Islands, a tie meant both parties got what they wanted. The rest of the day was spent helping Yuki get building materials for her house, and by sundown, they had a frame up and the beginnings of one wall. Riku offered to stay and help her build, and Kairi promised to tell his mother so she wouldn't worry.

The "house" was tiny, a one room shack, more or less, but Yuki was pleased with the work they'd gotten done, and surprised that Riku had managed to hold his own against her. She really shouldn't have taken it easy on the boy... Yuki carried a load of planks from the far end of the beach over to the building site, dropping them on the sand and going back for more. Once she reached the pile of lumber, she put her hands on her hips and glared at it for a moment. There was far too much wood for her to carry by herself, and Riku was hammering the planks up and such like. Looking around a bit, Yuki made a plan and went back to the building site for the axe Sora had brought. She blissfully ignored Riku's puzzled look and set about making her job easier.

Yuki cut down a coconut tree, then chopped it in half length wise. She peeled the bark off each split log, taking several planks and nailing them down on top of the logs to make a crude sled. Grabbing an abandoned net off the beach, she headed into the jungle, waving a hasty goodbye to Riku, who was busy building her a roof.

A little over an hour later, when Riku had started o worry about the black haired girl, Yuki returned with a half dozen wild dogs leashed together. After loading the wood onto the sled, she turned the net into a harness and hooked the dogs up, throwing a small pile of fresh meat near the building site. It was all the girl could do to hold on once the dogs caught the smell of food and took off. Riku heard the loud barking and whipped around, watching in fascination as Yuki rode up on her sled, grinning broadly and laughing. That night, they got the roof on the building and sat under the stars, making grand plans.

The dogs, once un-harnessed, refused to go back into the jungle, so Yuki fed them some more and rigged an impromptu pen for them. She had started a fire, and Riku had spread out the blankets he'd brought. (In two separate places, since he didn't want Yuki thinking the worst about him.) Riku had restrained himself the entire day, only touching her hand, not even stealing kisses when the opportunity arose. He had been the epitome of a decorous gentleman, and he had hated every minute of it.

Yuki returned to the fireside and smiled at Riku. Tonight they would behave themselves...but tomorrow...

The day dawned sunny and perfect, and by some freak chance Riku and Yuki had the whole island to themselves. They sparred for a while, then fixed breakfast and wandered around the island together. They held hands, they whispered sweet nothings, they stole kisses in the shade of trees. They swam in a pool at the heart of the island, wearing next to nothing, playing like the normal children they both wished they could be. As the sun reached its peak in the sky, Yuki and Riku stretched out on a bluff overlooking the ocean to dry out. Riku was utterly amazed...how could he have fallen in love with this girl in three days? It wasn't logical or rational...but it was unstoppable.

"Yuki... How long will you stay here?" Yuki let her eyes trace patterns in the clouds overhead.

"You were born to rule this world Riku... Your eyes are the same shade of blue as the sky, you're destined to travel to new worlds and surpass all your peers." There was a suspicious catch in Yuki's voice, and Riku squirmed over and held her against his bare chest. They fit together perfectly... Her face rested on his shoulder so naturally, her hand slipped into his with such ease... They were truly meant for one another, despite the worlds of their birth.

"Yuki, all I want is to stay with you. What beauty is there in another world if you aren't there to laugh with me?" Riku kissed the top of her head tenderly. "I love you, Yuki. I think I loved you the moment I saw you..."

Yuki buried her face against his neck. Riku was stunned to feel her tears running down his skin, and her held her more tightly, kissed her wet cheeks more fiercely.

"Riku... I... I have a gift for you." Yuki sat up and held her hands near her chest. Riku gasped as he saw a vibrant, delicate, beautiful emerald green heart appear in her cupped hands. "I love you Riku, and to you I give my heart, forever."

She handed the dancing green light to him, and as he touched it, it vanished into a warm glow throughout his entire body. In an instant, he saw every moment he'd had with Yuki, the feel of her in his arms, the deviltry in her ever so naughty grin...

He opened eyes he had never noticed he closed and reached for Yuki. The tears were running down her face again, and Riku captured each one with his kiss.

"Yuki... Please, don't ever leave me..." Yuki smiled up at him.

"I never will Riku. I will love you as long as my heart is in yours." Yuki didn't want to think about what she had to do, not when she had actually fallen in love with the person she'd been sent to destroy. Maleficent had demanded that Yuki secure the loyalty of the true Keyblade master, so that he would aid rather than fight their cause, or kill him. Yuki knew that if she let Riku wield the Keyblade, he would bring total destruction to the worlds, and he would lose his heart to the darkness. In a moment so perfect, Yuki kissed Riku and drew him down on the grass beside her.

Hours later, Yuki snuggled one last time into Riku's sleeping embrace, then kissed his cheek. She sat there, memorizing every detail of his face, the feel of his hair, the taste of his skin. She had given him her heart, and she had ruined him for the Keyblade. His heart was no longer pure, he was not an innocent child anymore, and he had tasted real love. The Keyblade master was required to be pure of any darkness, to know only the innocence of childish love.

The love she and Riku shared was beyond even the intensity of "destined to be together." And Yuki had corrupted him, not so that the universe may be saved from the Heartless, but so that the boy she loved would never lose his heart.

Getting up and getting dressed, Yuki stood and looked out to sea. Slowly, with a pain so deep in her soul and a sorrow so agonizing it was beyond tears, the black haired sorceress apprentice cast a spell over the island, so that no one there would remember her visit, and that Riku would not remember her love.

Before the silvery curtain that was her spell could reach them, Yuki bent down and kissed Riku one last time.

"In that sacred place where dreams always come true, I will sleep in your arms forever." Spinning around, Yuki dived off the cliff just before the light touched her, falling into a dimensional rift her power over the Heartless opened for her. Maleficent wouldn't be pleased, and her father would be furious, but Yuki's soul would rest eternal within Riku's kiss.

In a large, circular room in the bowels of Hollow Bastion, a beautiful young woman with long hair the color of the sea at midnight and green eyes that put the finest emeralds to shame kneeled on the cold stone floor in front of her executioner. He was a handsome young man with shoulder length silver hair and the palest, most beautiful blue eyes the woman had ever seen. In the shadowed darkness near the door, Maleficent read out the charges against the young woman.

"Princess Yuki of Hollow Bastion, daughter of King Ansem, you are charged with treason, and are to be executed by losing your heart." Maleficent paused and looked at Riku, the Keyblade in his hand. "Riku, my boy, this girl is the reason you were denied the Keyblade for so long. Now, I shall leave and let you summon the Heartless so that she might get her reward."

The evil witch left the chamber, and Riku bent down and tipped Yuki's face up with his fingers.

"I feel I know you... There's a warmth in me that wasn't there before once I saw you... Why?" Yuki smiled up at him as the darkness of the Heartless began pooling around her knees.

"I fell in love under a sky as blue as your eyes, and I knew the sweetest joy in your arms." Riku watched emotionlessly as the darkness tore through her soul, searching for her heart. He left the room only after there was no trace of Yuki left, save for a heat in his chest and the a half-forgotten memory of her in his arms. Riku closed and sealed the door, to Maleficent's surprise. He stepped back and turned, walking away and never looking back, never to see the thriving rose bush that sprung up where Yuki had knelt, its vines matching Yuki's eyes, its blooms matching her darkest hair.

That night, as Riku slept to prepare for his fight against Sora, he dreamed he held the black haired girl in his arms and at last knew peace.


End file.
